Every Second of the Day
by No Pain No Gain
Summary: Alfred and Arthur have a very special relationship, and yet they love one another indefinitely. When Alfred's niece ends up spending a day with them, she worriedly comes to the conclusion that Arthur does not love Alfred at all. However, it's quite the opposite. There are a million ways of saying "I love you", and Alfred knows that Arthur is saying them all, all the time.


**Author's Notes**

**I'm writing, I promise I am. I've got a few stories in progress, but I haven't been satisfied with my writing at all lately, so I can never seem to finish anything I start. Anyway. Here's hoping this small oneshot will help get my writing back into order. **

**Inspired by a tumblr post. You can find it by going to the blog URL givemelibertea on tumblr, and then adding a slash and the following extension post/78146162092/theres-like-a-million-different-ways-to-say-i**

**Warnings for homophobic language. Otherwise, it's just a cute oneshot about several mild themes like love, family, innocence, etc. **

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

"I hope you're good with kids, because I'm not," Arthur had told him when he'd announced the news at the dinner table, and had gone back to poking the potatoes on his plate.

"It won't be so bad," Alfred had replied, unworried. "Maddie's a sweet kid, you'll see she'll be no bother."

"I'm not worried about her," he muttered back, and sighed. "Anyway. Finish up so I can do the dishes. There's a movie I want to see at 9 o' clock on the telly."

They'd left it at that.

The next morning, Alfred was woken up by the sound of their doorbell chiming across the flat. Getting up, he had the decency to pull on a pair of sweatpants before leaving Arthur in bed to go answer the door. Matthew, his younger twin brother, was diligently waiting for him, looking worried and unsure and oh-so tired in the morning light.

"Hey. You're punctual," Alfred greeted him warmly.

"And you're half-naked," Matthew replied quickly, a grin splitting his face.

"It's Arthur's fault," Alfred laughed, to his brother's exasperation, and tugged Matthew into a hug. "Haven't seen you in a while. Been taking care of yourself, I hope."

"I'm fine," Matthew answered softly, and squeezed Alfred before stepping back. "Sorry I can't stay. The hospital called me late last night, and I gotta go in to replace one of the circulating nurses who came down with a fever on her evening shift. We've got quite a few surgeries today, so I'll be late in getting back. If you could take her home afterwards, that would be very much appreciated."

"Of course, it's no trouble at all," Alfred grinned, and then looked down. "Where is Maddie anyway?"

Matthew looked down at his legs, and finding no sign of his 6 year-old daughter, he sighed.

"Maddie, don't hide. It's just uncle Alfred. You met him some time ago. Come on over and say hello," he called to apparently nothing, and waited. A moment later, hesitant footsteps pattered down the hallway, and the little girl came into view, hiding her face into the large white teddie bear that Alfred recognized as one of Matthew's old favourites.

"There's my little angel," Alfred chuckled, rubbing the last tendrils of sleep out of his eyes. "Come on over, Maddie!"

"Hello, uncle Alfred," she muttered as she came close, clinging to her father's jeans shyly.

"Now, Maddie, be nice to uncle Alfred and uncle Arthur," Matthew patted her head. "Daddy's going to be working late tonight, but uncle Alfred will take you home around bedtime."

"Mhm," Maddie nodded, long blond pigtails bobbing up and down with her head. "Have a nice day at work, daddy."

"Okay sweetheart," Matthew laughed and knelt down, kissing his daughter's forehead tenderly. "You have a fun time with your uncles, okay?"

Maddie nodded and hugged Matthew around the neck, and Matthew allowed her to cling until his sense of duty reminded him that the morning's hip arthroplasty was scheduled for in three hours, and that he had to get going. Briefly wishing his brother and his daughter a nice day, he left down the hallway, leaving Maddie alone at the door.

Alfred waited for him to be gone to invite Maddie in.

"Come on in, sunshine. I bet you haven't had breakfast yet, so I'll make some pancakes for you, is that alright?" he smiled, his heart clenching when his niece nodded silently and entered their flat.

Alfred took her coat while she removed her shoes, but she stubbornly clung onto the bear. Alfred watched her go to the living room, smiling softly when he remembered how he'd been that young, once.

"Do you want to watch a cartoon while I make the pancakes?" he called, walking over to the stove while keeping an eye on her over the counter.

"Daddy says television isn't any good for me, so I'll read this book instead," she calmly explained, unzipping her backpack and bringing out a children's book.

"Alright," Alfred shrugged, watching her get comfortable on the sofa as he begun making the pancake mix. "We can watch a movie after dinner, though, if you like. A couple of hours won't hurt."

"I'm allowed two hours a day. But what else are we going to do today?" she asked curiously, eyes roving over the pages in her book.

"What do you want to do? If it's not too windy, we can go to the park for a while after breakfast. If you'd like, we'll eat out wherever you want, too. Then, we can get your homework done before dinner, and watch a movie after dinner. That sound good to you, Mads?"

"Daddy calls me Mads sometimes," she smiled softly, and then looked up at Alfred. "I'd like to do all of that with you today, uncle Alfred!"

"Call me Al," he replied good-naturedly, and turned on the stove. "And you can call Arthur Artie, if you like."

"Ah," Maddie ducked her head back into the book, looking hesitant. "Maybe."

"Don't worry, he's nice," Alfred reassured her, melting butter in the pan. As it melted, the door to their room opened, and Arthur walked out in a t-shirt that Alfred distinctively remembered wearing last night, looking disheveled.

"Al," he called grumpily. "Can you please get some water boiling for tea?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Alfred nodded, beginning his first pancake. "Hey, Artie? Maddie's here already if you'd like to say hello."

It wasn't a suggestion, and they both knew it, and Arthur turned to the little girl on the sofa, looking up at him worriedly. He realized he mustn't have looked very approachable, but his ass hurt and he was tired from the long week that had just passed, and he didn't feel like being even remotely civil before his morning shower and cup of tea.

"Hello," he greeted nonetheless, rubbing his eyes. "I'm Arthur."

"H-Hello," Maddie nodded nervously, looking back to her book quickly.

"Hmm." He wasn't surprised. He'd never been good with kids, and kids had never really liked him, either. Instead, he turned his eyes to his boyfriend and appreciated his defined shoulder blades and the dip in his lower back. "Al, I'm going in for a shower."

"Yep! I'll have breakfast done when you're out," Alfred nodded with a smile, blowing him a noisy kiss. "Into the shower you go, you stinky man."

Arthur rolled his eyes and left without another word. Alfred returned to the task at hand. There was silence but the sizzling of the pan, the flopping of flipped pancakes, and the muffled sound of the shower running. And then, about halfway through the entirety of the batter, Maddie cleared her throat.

"S-So... That's uncle Arthur?" she asked quietly, wringing her chubby fingers.

"Yep. He looks like a grouch, but he's a sweetheart," Alfred smiled fondly. "He likes you already, I know it."

"Ah," she bit her lip. "You're sure?"

"Of course," Alfred turned to give her a bright, comforting grin. "Arthur's special. He won't outward say he likes something or someone, but if you look closely enough, you can tell that he cares."

"Hmm." Maddie processed the information for a while. Since she said nothing, Alfred turned back to his last few pancakes, but the little girl spoke up as soon as he poured the batter for the next one into the pan. "Are you and uncle Arthur married?"

"Pffff," Alfred laughed, a blush rising to his cheeks. "No, no we're not."

"Do you love each other?"

"Yes. Indefinitely," Alfred scratched his cheek, embarrassed a bit. "I love him more than anything else in the world. And he loves me just as much."

"I see." Maddie did not seem convinced, but shrugged. "Okay." And just like that, she dropped it. "I'm hungry. Can I eat a pancake now while waiting for the rest?"

"Of course. Come here, let's get your hands washed and the table set. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can go play!"

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

Arthur was not one for many words, Maddie noticed, as Alfred did most of the talking during breakfast. He didn't even look up from his plate much, either, only stopping to answer an inquiry, or validate something, or wipe a bit of chocolate from the side of Alfred's lips. The last time Arthur did it, Alfred quickly turned his head and bit his finger gently, causing Arthur to yelp and pull it back. It was amusing to her, but she still was unable to understand their relationship when Arthur stomped off without another word, leaving Alfred to laugh.

"Okay, now wash your hands and grab your coat so that we can go." He took the plates off the table and took them to the sink, letting Maddie wander off to find the bathroom. She did find it, since the flat wasn't very large, but with it, she also found Arthur, who was brushing his teeth.

"Hmm?" the bushy-browed blond looked down at her, spitting into the sink. "Did you need the washroom?"

"I have to wash my hands," she meekly answered, not looking at him.

"Ah." Arthur nodded, and finished cleaning out his teeth. There was an awkward silence as he dried his face off, and then he turned to the little girl, not daring to look at her. "Do... Do you need help reaching the sink?"

"Oh." Maddie looked up, but the blond with the strange accent was not looking at her. She blushed. "Yes please."

"Okay, come on over," Arthur motioned, and picked her up with a grunt. "Can you reach the soap like this?"

"It smells like my daddy."

"Ah. Does it now?"

When Alfred peeked across to check where Maddie was, and found her in Arthur's arms, he grinned like an idiot, and returned to the dishes.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

"Are you done back there?" Arthur asked, getting impatient as Alfred struggled with strapping Maddie into the booster seat.

"Almost..." Alfred grunted. "Your daddy should have explained how this works to me before he left it with me..."

"Usually it goes across my lap," Maddie explained, and with some struggling, Alfred successfully clipped the seat belt over her.

"There." He laughed, and checked that she was alright before sliding in the front seat. From there, he twisted around to grin at her. "So, Mads. What are you going to do first at the park?"

"Go on the swings!" she immediately replied. "Can you push me?"

"Of course!" Alfred nodded. "It'll be fun. We can go on the see-saw, too, if you like."

"Yeah!"

"Alfred," Arthur interrupted as he started the car. "Put on your seat belt."

"Of course," Alfred nodded and clipped himself in and then turned back to talk to his niece some more. "So how's school so far? You liking it?"

"I like learning how to write and read, it's the best," the little girl nodded, and became surprisingly talkative during the entire ride to the park.

It was a ten-minute ride that went smoothly, for Alfred and his niece, at any rate. Arthur just did not talk at all, concentrated on the road. When they arrived, he parked on the side of the street, and Alfred immediately jumped out to go unstrap Maddie.

"Watch out for the cars," Arthur called back, checking the road before opening his door, and stretching.

"Yes mother," Alfred hummed, bringing Maddie out of her seat and taking her hand to lead her across the street, into the park.

Arthur followed diligently, a book in hand and ready to pass the time.

True to his word, Alfred pushed Maddie on the swings, and then played on the see-saw for a while, and whenever Arthur looked up from his bench, she was grinning wide. A strange kind of warmth enveloped his heart, and pulsed harder when he looked at the way that Alfred handled the kid. At least one of them was not a complete failure with children.

He looked back down at his book. A few minutes later, Alfred slid in next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders and kissing the side of his head.

"You smell like soap," he muttered softly, lovingly.

"Good thing you don't smell like sex. You're gross, you didn't even shower this morning," Arthur returned without looking up, though a smile graced his face.

"I washed up last night while you were busy dozing off," Alfred shrugged. "Anyway. What are you reading?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in," Arthur shrugged, and tried to keep reading, but the screams and giggles of children kept him from concentrating. "Where's Maddie?"

"Some kids came up and asked her to join into their game of tag. I figured it'd be good for her to mingle some, so she's playing with them."

"And you're here bothering me," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I'm here and bothering you for as long as I still live," Alfred assured him.

"You dumb idiot." Arthur shook his head and finally looked up at him, finding his face an inch away from Alfred's. "You should propose to me sometime soon."

"I'm working on it, darling," Alfred chuckled, and leaned in just slightly to kiss him. Arthur closed his book without a second thought and laced his fingers with Alfred's. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair when he leaned his head to put it down on Alfred's shoulder.

"Do you think we'll have children someday?" Arthur asked softly after a while, unsure and worried.

"Maybe. If you want." Alfred kissed his hair lovingly. "It's still too early to think of kids. Maybe when I graduate from university and get a stable job and we move into a better place."

"I want a house," Arthur sighed dreamily. "With a garden."

"I'll buy you the first rose and we can plant it together."

"That's a plan," Arthur chuckled softly, and closed his eyes to enjoy Alfred's presence.

He didn't enjoy it for long.

"Excuse me?"

They both looked up to find an older woman in her mid-forties, looking down at them disapprovingly.

Arthur's grip tightened on Alfred's hand. It didn't take a genius to figure out what this was about.

"Can we help you?" the Briton took the lead, his boyfriend watching the woman warily.

"Yes, well, I'd like it if you stopped this public indecency," she motioned with her head down at them.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't think the norms for indecent PDA now included holding hands," Arthur replied coolly.

"I think you should be more concerned with the fact that you are both men."

"Really? Well Alfred, I was sure you were a woman all this time!" Arthur feigned shock, which only seemed to tick the woman off further.

"In any case, _gentlemen_, you are scaring my child and I demand that you take yourselves elsewhere."

"Maybe your child wouldn't be scared if you taught them not to be an ignorant bigot like you," Alfred hissed, and then took a deep breath to calm down. Arthur squeezed harder, and then took the lead again.

"I think we will stay. The weather is nice, and we're enjoying the park quite a bit."

"You're probably preying on innocent children, you sick fucks," the woman growled. "Get out of here!"

"Madam, we are appalled," Arthur gasped mockingly. "You will be happy to know that we are not child molesters because we love one another, and that we are babysitting our own bundle of joy right now."

"The poor thing. You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Well she's not exactly ours. She's his niece," Arthur rolled his eyes, bored. He'd heard everything there was to hear about the issue a thousand times before.

"What kind of irresponsible parent would let a gay couple babysit their child? And a little girl, at that, too!" she seethed. "I should call the police on you!"

"Because we're holding hands?" Arthur cocked his head, wondering how far the depths of this woman's stupidity went. "That's a bit rash. However, I think we will spare you the embarrassment of wasting the police's time and leave. I fear that your nonsensical hate is giving me a headache." He turned to Alfred, and smiled. "Love of mine, would you mind getting Maddie?"

"...Yeah," Alfred croaked out, glaring murderously at the woman before getting up to go towards the kids playing in the sand now. "Maddie, come on. We're leaving."

"I wanted to play some more," the girl pouted.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. We'll come back another time," he mumbled, not wanting to argue.

"Okay," the girl sighed and waved goodbye to her friends, slipping her hand into Alfred's as they walked back to Arthur. He was obviously trying to ignore the chattering woman, who looked madder and madder with every word. Trust Arthur to provoke someone and get a kick out of it.

"We should go," Alfred grunted when he got close enough. "There's been enough pointless accusations for today."

"Don't come back around here!" the woman growled. "You're not welcome."

"Hey!" Alfred barked back, grip tightening instinctively on Maddie's hand. The little girl gasped and looked up, panicking, but Alfred did not notice. "Stop being so rude to us just because-"

"Alfred, stop," Arthur interrupted, getting up. "Madam, I do not care if you feel the need to slander either of us, but to do so in the presence of an innocent child is unacceptable. We will leave, and may we never have the displeasure of meeting someone as hateful as you ever again."

Beginning to walk, he motioned Alfred over.

"Come, Alfred. Maddie. Let's go."

Maddie watched nervously as Alfred hesitated, and glared at the woman furiously one last time before dragging her over to Arthur. Arthur let them go first, and then turned around to address the woman one last time.

"I pity your child," he simply commented, genuinely desperate. "To have a mother as bigoted as you... I hope your bitter hatred does not turn them into a spiteful monster as well."

He left it at that, and walked away from the screeching mother to join Alfred, who had gotten some lead. Maddie was now up in his arms, clinging onto his neck worriedly.

"What did the lady want?" she asked after a while. "Why did she say those mean things to you?"

"Some people don't like us for who we are," Alfred began, bitterness creeping into his tone. "Just because Arthur and I aren't a man and a woman together... they think we're worthless, freaks, unnatural, monsters..."

Arthur knew what he was doing. He did it all the time when they encountered homophobic criticism. And he didn't want Alfred to hurt himself that way.

"Alfred, stop." He threw him a pointed glare. "Don't talk like that."

Maddie bristled at the strictness in his tone.

"But..." she continued hesitantly. "You're not bad, are you?"

"No, Maddie, we're not," Alfred assured her quietly. "Anyway. Forget what happened, alright? Let's go somewhere else."

"There's a pond not far away. We can go feed the ducks, if you'd like," Arthur suggested calmly, as if nothing had happened. "There's a bit of a bump here. Alfred, watch where you're going."

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred mumbled, and Maddie buried her face into his neck.

The rest of the morning went a lot better. Alfred bought Maddie a milkshake at her insistence, and they used a few quarters to get food for the ducks waddling around the artificial pond. The little girl soon seemed to forget what had happened and chased the ducks and the geese that joined the party after she threw a handful of grains into the grass. Alfred and Arthur sat back to watch her, and Alfred tried to hold Arthur's hand. Arthur almost gave in, but decided that both Maddie and Alfred did not need a repeat of what had happened earlier, and had distanced himself from Alfred a little bit, reading his book.

Maddie had noticed, and the grin on her face had fallen at the sight of her uncle's betrayed expression. Her eyes flickered to the grumpy Briton at his side, but she said nothing and kept chasing the ducks with less enthusiasm than before.

Lunch brought them to a nice outdoors café on the corner outside the park, where Maddie ate a wrap and some chips with gusto. Arthur did not eat, but Alfred accompanied her with a burger and some fries, letting her steal a few fries off of his plate good-naturedly.

Of course, due to the incident in the park, his appetite had diminished, but he still managed to finish off his burger and about half of his fries until he felt so full that he thought he'd be sick. However, wanting to convince himself that he was alright, he kept eating, painfully popping one fry into his mouth after the other, not even chewing properly before swallowing. Arthur noticed. Arthur always did. And so, snatching Alfred's plate away from him, he got up and threw the fries away, to Alfred's indignant squawk, and returned knowing that it was the best for Alfred right now.

"I wanted those fries," he protested half-heartedly, aware that Maddie was watching them talk nervously.

"No you didn't," Arthur just replied before returning to his book as if nothing had happened.

Alfred did not seem to look any better, and Maddie suddenly felt terribly sad for her uncle. She quietly announced that she was done eating, and a smile slipped right back onto Alfred's face as he led her to wash her hands inside.

After that, they walked back to the car, and the drive back to the men's flat was punctuated only by Maddie explaining what homework she had to do, and Alfred quietly nodding to her.

Once inside, Alfred set up the living room table for Maddie to do her homework on, and got his laptop from their room to do his own homework along with her. He sat down on the sofa and she sat down on the ground, and when Arthur looked over, his heart warmed. Figuring that some coffee would do Alfred some good, he put some water to boil and pulled out three mugs. In one of them, he put a prepared packet of loose-leaf tea, for himself. In the other, he put a spoonful of instant coffee. And for the last, for Maddie, he figured some hot chocolate would make her happy, and yet when he opened the pantry, he found that there was none left. Alfred had drank the last packet, if he remembered right, the last time they had a movie date night together.

Grabbing his wallet off the counter, he looked up to announce that he'd go get some more from the grocery store a few blocks away, before realizing that Alfred had been staring blankly at his screen for a while now. Arthur's heart snapped in half. His boyfriend was obviously still upset. He always was a sensitive character, beneath all his bravado. Arthur felt terrible for him. He needed to change his thoughts a bit, it seemed.

"Alfred?" he called, watching as his boyfriend looked up questioningly. "Could you please go get some hot chocolate mix from the grocery store for Maddie? We've run out."

"Oh." Alfred looked hesitant, and Maddie could see it.

"T-That's okay!" she protested quickly. "He doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to."

"The fresh air will do you some good," Arthur hinted, and Alfred hesitated a bit before getting up.

"Alright," he acquiesced and moved towards the entrance. As he passed by, Arthur caught him by the sleeve and looked up at him.

"Matthias is on shift at this hour. Go talk to him, schedule a boy's night out, or whatever it is you do. Clear your head. And then come back when you're better, okay?" he suggested in a low voice as not to disturb the child in the living room.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded, smiling softly at the blond. "Thanks, Arthur. I'll be back in a bit."

Arthur watched him go, and only when the door slammed shut did he realize that he was now alone with a six year old. Damn it. He would need lots of strong tea to help him with this one.

"So Maddie, what are you working on?" he asked, trying to converse a bit and get on her good side. She didn't seem to like him very much, and that disheartened him a bit.

"English homework," she replied, not even looking up.

"Ah," Arthur fidgeted a bit. "Okay. Do you need any help?"

"No, thank you."

"That's fine." Arthur nodded, and wondered what he should do now. The girl didn't seem to want to do anything with him. Maybe it was better that way. He was terrible- absolutely terrible with children. "Alright, well if you need me, I'll be right here." He pointed to the dinner table.

"Okay," she nodded again, and kept writing. Arthur sighed and sat down to read, but strangely enough, he couldn't concentrate. And then, in the tense silence between him and his boyfriend's niece, he regretted sending Alfred away.

It was only about half an hour later that Alfred returned, waltzing in with his trademark smirk on his face. Arthur was relieved, in more ways than one, and greeted him at the door, taking the hot chocolate from him.

"Better?" he asked, loving the fact that the sparkle were back in his eyes.

"Definitely. Thanks, Arthur. I needed that," he smirked, and kissed him gently, just once, before heading to the living room.

Arthur stayed behind just a bit, blushing softly, and wondering how in hell he'd ever landed a man like Alfred F. Jones.

"Mads, hey!" Alfred called when he walked in, surprised when his niece jumped up to hug him.

"You're back!" she expressed with a strange kind of relief.

"Of course I am," Alfred chuckled, not quite understanding, but changed the topic. "So how's the homework going?"

"It's okay. I might need some help with my spelling. Do you mind practicing my vocabulary words with me?"

"Absolutely not!" Alfred assured her, plopping down on the ground next to her. "Let's see here, now. I'll dictate the words, and you write them, okay? With me helping out and Arthur bringing you some yummy hot chocolate to help you concentrate, we'll be done in no time."

Arthur observed them with a sad smile, and figured that maybe it was for the best that they never spoke about children of their own.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

When Arthur retreated to their room in silent surrender, Alfred began working on dinner, and by the time the sun had begun dipping on the horizon, they were setting the table and getting ready to eat.

"We're having Maddie's favourite tonight," he announced when Arthur and Maddie were both seated at the table. "Pasta with white sauce!"

"Thank you uncle Alfred," she grinned widely.

"Enjoy your meal," he wished back to her and served them all a generous portion.

"Don't forget to wash your hands," Arthur called to him when he returned to the kitchen, and Alfred just laughed.

"Of course, mother. I'll snap to it."

They waited for him to begin eating, and dinner was spent in small talk, mostly between Alfred and Maddie.

After dinner, Arthur volunteered to do the dishes whilst Alfred helped Maddie get changed into her pyjamas. The Briton could hear them chattering loudly across the flat and a certain jealousy welled up inside of him. But then again, he reasoned, he maybe just wasn't made to be good with kids. It wasn't a given talent to all, and he felt better admitting it that way.

"Hey Arthur!" Alfred's call broke through his thoughts, and he turned around to answer him. "What do you think we should watch? Pocahontas or Hercules?"

"Whatever Maddie wants," Arthur replied, shrugging.

"Maddie, come on, pick!" Alfred prompted her.

"I don't knoooooow," she whined. "I want to see them both."

"How about you watch Pocahontas tonight, and we'll watch Hercules the next time you come here," Alfred suggested.

"Okay," she agreed, pattering over to the sofa, where she'd left her white bear all day long. Cuddling with it, she waited for Alfred to drape a large blanket over her, and watched curiously as he found the movie on his computer, and hooked the computer to the television.

"Here you go, sweetheart. I'll be right back to watch with you," he assured her, and played the movie before going back to Arthur. His boyfriend was now putting the dry dishes away, and was surprised with the pair of arms that slipped around his waist.

"I almost dropped the plates because of you, you idiot," Arthur grumbled.

"It's okay. You didn't," Alfred replied, turning him around to steal a kiss from him. "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course I know." Arthur kissed him back, and smiled lovingly at him. His eyes said it all.

"Uncle Alfred, the sound is too low. I can't hear anything," Maddie whined from the living room, and Alfred chuckled, undoing his arms from around Arthur's waist.

"I'll go cater to Her Highness. Do you want to come watch with us?"

"Only if you hold me," Arthur raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Hah," Alfred scoffed. "That wasn't even up for debate."

"Alright, alright," Arthur rolled his eyes, brushing past him. "I'll get the volume for her."

"I could've done it," Alfred laughed, following behind him.

"No, you are going to get a pair of socks because it's too cold for you to be barefoot around the flat," Arthur protested, and grabbed the remote off of the coffee table. "Here you go, Maddie. Better?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied softly, eyes glued to the screen. The awkward feeling returned to Arthur, and he stood behind the sofa uncomfortably until Alfred arrived and almost literally swept him off his feet, onto the sofa, where they cuddled and watched the movie.

It was strange, Arthur noted to himself, because it almost felt like they were a family.

_...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..._

Maddie had fallen asleep even before the movie had ended, and Arthur had gotten drowsy as well when Alfred gently set him down to clean up.

"What time is it?" he yawned, watching Alfred unplug the computer from the television.

"Late enough for you to go to bed. And way past Maddie's bedtime, the poor thing," Alfred chuckled, looking at his snoozing niece, curled up in the blanket with her teddie bear.

"What are we gonna do with her?" Arthur asked, stretching.

"I'm going to take her home. Matthew finishes his shift sometime soon, so he should be at his place in half an hour."

"Do you want me to come?" Arthur asked, though he didn't sound very enthusiastic.

"It's okay, hon. Warm the bed for me, it'll be enough," Alfred chuckled, and so did Arthur.

"Come here," the Briton ordered softly, opening his arms. When Alfred came close enough, he trapped him in his arms and kissed him, passionately and with all his heart. "Today was great."

"It was. Thanks for everything, Arthur," Alfred smiled at him, pecking him in return before drawing back. "I'll take Maddie home. Be back before long."

"Okay," Arthur nodded, getting up to go get changed. "Be careful."

"I will," the blond nodded, bending down to take his niece in his arms. Maddie just mumbled in her sleep but clung onto Alfred as she was lifted up. Alfred just threw her jacket over her shoulders and grabbed the keys, heading down to the car. The night was chilly, but he didn't really mind, letting the breeze wake him up.

The drive was silent and not too long, thankfully, and about fifteen minutes later, Alfred was unlocking Matthew's flat with his set of spare keys.

"Here we go, Princess," he whispered to no one in particular. "We're home."

"...Hmm, uncle Al?" Maddie answered in a sleepy whisper. "Where... are we?"

"We're home. Your daddy's going to be back soon," Alfred announced, taking her straight to bed.

"It was fun today, uncle Alfred," Maddie yawned. "Thank you for playing with me."

"It was a pleasure, my sweetheart. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," the blond kissed her forehead and set her down on her bed, helping her get under the covers.

"Uncle Al?" she asked once she was settled.

"Yes, Maddie?"

"Are you going to marry uncle Arthur?" she asked quietly, as if afraid of the answer.

"One day, I will. Why do you ask?" Alfred smiled indulgently.

"He doesn't love you as much as you love him," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"What makes you say that?" Alfred asked, surprised.

"He's always telling you what to do..." She sighed. "And he's always commenting on everything you do... And he threw out your lunch, and he told you to stop talking, and he never smiles."

"Arthur is... complicated," Alfred sighed, not knowing how to explain the intricacies of their relationship to his six year old niece. "I just know I love him, and he loves me, I'm sure of it. You shouldn't worry about these things."

"I don't want you to become mean and hateful like the lady at the park today," Maddie admitted. "So I just wish uncle Arthur was nicer to you."

"Honey..." Alfred sucked in a breath. "No, sweetie, don't ever think like that. I will never be like the lady at the park, no matter what. And Arthur just has a different way of showing his happiness, okay? Don't worry about any of this."

"Okay..." she sighed, and closed her eyes. "I love you, uncle Alfred."

"I love you, too, Maddie. My little angel." The crunching of tires caught Alfred's attention, and he turned to the window to see a car coming into the driveway. "Now there's your daddy. I'll go say hello to him. Sweet dreams, Maddie."

"Good night, uncle Alfred," she wished him. Just as Alfred was about to exit her room, she called back to him. "Uncle Alfred?"

"Yes?" Alfred asked, turning back to her with one hand on the door handle.

"Why won't uncle Arthur ever say that he loves you?" She asked so innocently that Alfred's heartstrings actually tugged in his chest.

"Oh, Maddie, he does..." His mouth went dry at the thought of how much he loved his boyfriend. And soon, his fiancé. "He does say he loves me in so many different ways. In everything he does and everything he says, he's always telling me that he cares, and he shows me how much he loves me every second of the day."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**Not much to say here. Just a simple oneshot to keep my creative juices going. Just thought the idea of saying "I love you" indirectly under the guise of caring words was cute. I guess I do that a lot too, ahah, even when I don't realize it. **

**Welp. Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review if you have any commentary to leave, anything at all!**

**-NPNG**


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